How to Select Outdoor Hanging Plants for a South Florida Climate

By Contributor

How to Select Outdoor Hanging Plants for a South Florida Climate. Along with the wonderful beds of flowers and plants that grow in South Florida, hanging plants around the exterior of your home will give you a pop of color at eye level. The tropical climate of South Florida is perfect for maintaining outdoor hanging plants like moss rose, verbena, firecracker plants and petunias.

Ask advice of the Agriculture Extension Agency in your area for help in selecting plants for your hanging pots. Look for plants native to your area that can handle the heat and humidity of South Florida while also, being a container plant, may not receive as much water as something planted in the ground.

Decide where you want to have hanging plants on your property, the areas that will sustain a plant that needs full sun, partial sun or mostly shade. This will determine the types of plants you will put in the hanging pots. If hanging in the shade, you could do with caladiums, cast iron plants or begonias; or in full sun, try petunias and star flowers.

Attach a hangar to your house under an overhang or canopy to protect your plants from sun. Or if hanging pots in the full sun, using a shepherd's hook gives you the option to have a hanging plant anywhere on your property. You will need to use special hardware that will hold the weight of the plant and the water it will need to keep it healthy.

Choose a local garden center or nursery to purchase the plants you want to hang. You can either buy plants and hanging containers separately or plants that are already in hanging containers. If you do want to build your own baskets, look at the already-made baskets at a nursery for ideas on what types of flowers and plants they used together. (You might see a hanging ivy combined with petunias with a geranium in the center.)

Remember not to spend money on perennials for pots and other containers as you will want flowers (annuals) you can change each season.

Things You Will Need

Water

Fertilizers

Garden spot

Tip

Make sure you have a convenient water source for your hanging plants.

Warning

Some small birds will stake out a hanging plant to build their nest. If you see a lot of bird activity around your plant take care not to disturb what might be a new family.

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